carlos_r's review against another edition
4.0
Una historia muy bien planteada, llena de elementos que llaman a leer el libro: investigación, magia negra, artistas de renombre, épocas clave de la historia europea y mundial... El trabajo de documentación que ha hecho el autor es meritorio. Para aquel que le haya gustado un libro como [b:The Last Cato|361938|The Last Cato|Matilde Asensi|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348889756s/361938.jpg|65419], le recomiendo que le eche un vistazo. Además la manera en la que plantea el desarrollo del libro, alternando el protagonismo de los capítulos entre los distintos personajes, hace que se haga muy llevadero.
El único pero es que la trama es algo predecible, y para la mitad del libro uno ya se hace una idea de quiénes son los personajes sospechosos.
El único pero es que la trama es algo predecible, y para la mitad del libro uno ya se hace una idea de quiénes son los personajes sospechosos.
xinesinnott's review against another edition
2.0
Can't do character or dialogue -- plot will be interesting if you liked the DaVinci Code.
stricker's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
3.75
hldonavant's review against another edition
3.0
I'll readily admit I skipped quite a few paragraphs in this novel, but overall it was a good read.
novelgoddess's review
3.0
I won this book through first reads
This story is a historical mystery kind of along the lines of the DaVinci Code. The story goes back and forth between the present and the hunt for the Medusa Amulet and the past, shortly after the amulet was made.
The story follows a college professor/library curator's quest to find the Medusa Amulet for a very rich widow, Mrs. Van Owen, who promises him a lot of money as well as a cure for his dying sister. Of course there is another faction trying to find the same amulet that will stop at nothing to keep the amulet from Mrs. Van Owen.
While the story was good, it didn't move very fast which frustrated me. But the story did capture my interest and kept me plugging along.
This story is a historical mystery kind of along the lines of the DaVinci Code. The story goes back and forth between the present and the hunt for the Medusa Amulet and the past, shortly after the amulet was made.
The story follows a college professor/library curator's quest to find the Medusa Amulet for a very rich widow, Mrs. Van Owen, who promises him a lot of money as well as a cure for his dying sister. Of course there is another faction trying to find the same amulet that will stop at nothing to keep the amulet from Mrs. Van Owen.
While the story was good, it didn't move very fast which frustrated me. But the story did capture my interest and kept me plugging along.
carladenham's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
dswilson85's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The strength of this novel is the author's ability to weave a story of fiction around real and interesting events which happened over many centuries. Other than the obvious (no spoilers here), you really don't know whether given elements of the story are true or not. The story's setup - maybe the first quarter of the book - was strong enough to pull me though the overly-long Marie Antoinette chapters in the middle, and the unrealistic, frantic final chapters (made for Hollywood). I will read another book by this author, because his other titles imply a similar genre: historical fiction with a foundation of real-life events. For this author at least, the formula works well.
shiningwolf's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
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